Chapter 5

I was utterly bewildered. "Why?!" I demanded.

Gus leaned close to me, his face serious. "Falcon, seriously, you went too far this time. You need to apologize to Leo properly."

The other two nodded in agreement.

I looked at Leo, who stood opposite me, his head bowed.

"Why would you threaten him? You made a mistake and refuse to admit it!"

She said, pulling a tissue from her pocket and spreading it open in front of me, her eyes burning.

"That jade pendant was a gift I gave Leo for good luck."

"Why did you snatch it and smash it?!"

I looked up, utterly shocked, and instinctively tried to explain to the others, "No, I didn't!"

"Leo, tell them what happened!"

He shook his head, biting his lip, his voice choked with tears. "Falcon, I didn't mean to tell on you, but Elara saw it. If I didn't tell the truth, I'd be the one getting punished."

"Falcon, we know you like the Commander, but this is too much. She just gave Leo a jade pendant for good luck."

"After all, the undercover mission is so dangerous."

The others chimed in, accusing me.

I looked at Leo, disbelief written all over my face.

I couldn't understand how someone could fabricate such lies out of thin air.

"Leo, look at me. Was it really me?!" I stared at him, my voice trembling.

The next second, he burst into tears. "Elara, Falcon didn't mean to!"

"Enough, Falcon!"

"I am truly disappointed in you."

"With all these incidents, you don't deserve to be my teammate."

"Confess and accept your punishment, and we might still accept you back on this team. Otherwise, I will report to headquarters that you are unfit to be a special agent."

I shook my head, my eyes burning.

We had been on so many missions together. She knew what kind of person I was, but just because Leo shed a few tears, I suddenly became an unqualified agent in her eyes?

"Are you going to apologize or not?!"

She barked at me sternly.

I bit my lip, staring fiercely at Leo.

After a long moment, I spoke coldly, "I'm sorry!"

"Louder!"

"I'M SORRY!"

"Get ready for push-ups!"

I performed the push-ups without a word. Three thousand was no small number. My hands began to tremble, and the frequency of my reps slowed.

When the 3000 push-ups were done, I picked up the weighted pack and turned to leave the room.

Gus tried to intercede for me, but Elara silenced him with a cold glare.

I ran lap after lap around the training ground.

Until my legs were shaking.

Towards the end, I stumbled and fell to the ground.

A shadow fell over me, and a faint scent of perfume wafted into my nostrils.

"Falcon, tsk tsk, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just wanted to test Elara's feelings for you."

"Seems it wasn't much after all!"

He grinned triumphantly.

I looked up, staring at him coldly.

"Why?!"

"Why does everyone, one by one, want me to go undercover?!"

"Knowing it's a death sentence, Commander Thorne too, and Elara too? She's been training me daily, isn't it all for you?"

"To keep you safe, so they can sacrifice me?"

I shook my head, finding it ridiculous. "It's not like that, Leo."

"Not like that? Don't think I don't know just because you snatched the slips. And what if you and Elara were partners? As long as I'm the one by her side from now on, I'll replace you eventually."

I said bitterly, "I'm sure you will."

Her heart has always been with you, that's undeniable.

But my sincere words were perceived as mockery and provocation in his eyes.

He said fiercely, "Don't get cocky."

As he spoke, he grabbed my hand and brought a pill to my mouth.

"Falcon, I need you to do me a small favor!"

The next second, he put the pill in my hand, then grabbed my hand and shoved *it* into his own mouth.

He clutched his throat. "Falcon, why would you do this to me?"